Villanova ends long victory drought by taking Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate title with remarkable final-round surge

   Villanova could have been forgiven if it just went through the motions for Tuesday’s final round of the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s Gold Course in Williamsburg, Va.

   It’s been four years since the Wildcats last won a tournament team title at the Explorer Invitational in April of 2019 at LuLu Country Club. Following Monday’s double round, Villanova was sitting in eighth place, 11 shots behind front-running Farleigh Dickinson.

   There was one other major complication. Villanova’s five-man starting lineup was reduced to four when Jonathan Elkins, a junior from South Deerfield, Mass., was knocked out at some point in Monday’s double round.

   Probably injury or illness, but with just four guys in the lineup, there was no margin for error for Villanova. Didn’t look like the Wildcats’ long tournament victory drought was going to end this week.

   But it’s golf and in golf funny things happen pretty regularly. So, take your hats off to the 2023 Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate team champion Villanova Wildcats.

   Jason Lohwater, a graduate student from Rochester, N.Y. who was a four-year standout at Bucknell, carded a 3-under 68 over the 6,817-yard, par-71 Gold Course layout at Golden Horseshoe in Tuesday’s final round. Peter Weaver, a junior from Frontenac, Mo., added a 1-under 70. Ryan Pamer, a freshman from Hudson, Ohio who has been Villanova’s best player throughout the wraparound 2022-2023 season, posted a 1-over 72. And Josh Lavely, a junior from Kewadin, Mich., grinded out a 5-over 76.

   It added up to a 2-over 286, easily the best team round of the day, that gave Villanova, which plays out of the Big East Conference, a 16-over 868 total. Not only had Villanova overtaken Farleigh Dickinson, but the other six teams that had stood between the Wildcats and the top of the leaderboard when the day began.

   Villanova, which was coming off a 13^th-place finish in the Ross Collegiate Classic earlier in March at the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., had opened with a solid 5-over 289 before adding a 9-over 293 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   The Wildcats’ 868 total left them two shots clear of the Atlantic 10’s George Washington as the Colonials had opened with a 2-over 286 and added a 9-over 293 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 7-over 291 that left them with an 18-over 870 total. George Washington was the highest-ranked team among the contenders at No. 144 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   It was another two shots back to the Ivy League’s Princeton, which finished in third place with a 20-over 872 total. The Tigers, the only other top-200 team among the contenders at No. 198, opened with a solid 4-over 288 and added a 6-over 290 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 10-over 294.

   Navy, out of the Patriot League, and Longwood, out of the Big South Conference, were each a shot behind Princeton in a tie for fourth place at 21-over 873.

   After opening with an 11-over 295, the Midshipmen had the only team round under par in the tournament, a 3-under 281, in Monday afternoon’s second round that left them just three shots behind Farleigh Dickinson in second place going into Tuesday’s final round. Navy struggled in the final round, however, with a 13-over 297.

   Navy was led by individual champion Chip Deegan, a freshman from Newport Beach, Calif. who finished three shots clear of the field with a 6-under 207 total. After opening with a 1-over 72, Deegan contributed a sparkling 6-under 65, matching the best individual round of the tournament, to Navy’s second-round surge. Deegan finished up with a 1-under 70.

   Longwood registered a pair of 5-over 289s in Monday’s double round before falling back with an 11-over 295 in the final round.

   It was another two shots back to Towson, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, in sixth place with a 23-over 875 total. The Tigers had opened with a solid 3-over 287 and added a 9-over 293 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 11-over 295.

   Farleigh Dickinson, out of the Northeast Conference, had grabbed the lead going into the final round after adding a 1-over 285 in Monday afternoon’s second round to its opening round of 4-over 288. The Knights struggled to a 304 in Tuesday’s final round and fell all the way back to seventh place with a 25-over 877 total, two shots behind Towson.

   Half of the City 6 teams were in the field as Penn, out of the Ivy League, was playing for the first time this spring and Saint Joseph’s, another A-10 entry, joined Villanova in the field in Williamsburg.

   The Quakers finished in 10^th place with a 37-over 889 total as they opened with a 6-over 290 and added an 11-over 295 in Monday afternoon’s second round before struggling to a 304 in the final round.

   The Hawks struggled, adding a 308 in Monday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 306 before closing with a 300 as they finished last of 13 teams. St. Joe’s had finished a spot ahead of Villanova in 12^th place in the Ross Collegiate Classic at Mid Pines earlier in the month.

   Pamer was Villanova’s highest finisher in the individual standings as he opened with a sparkling 5-under 66 and added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round before his closing 72 left him alone in fourth place with a 1-under 212 total.

   Weaver finished among a trio of players tied for seventh place as he opened with a 1-under 70 and added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round before his closing 70 gave him a 1-over 214 total.

   Lohwater gave Villanova a third finisher inside the top 10 as his critical final-round 68 left him in a tie for 10^th place with a 2-over 215 total. Lohwater had opened with a 3-over 74 before adding a 2-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Lavely rounded out Villanova’s fabulous foursome, his final-round 76 leaving him in the group tied for 45^th place with a 14-over 227 total. Lavely opened with an 8-over 79 before carding a solid 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Vimal Alokam, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich., competed as an individual for Villanova and finished in the group tied for 60^th place with a 232 total. Alokam added a solid 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 7-over 78, but struggled to an 82 in the final round.

   Farleigh Dickinson accounted for the next two spots in the individual standings behind Navy’s Deegan, the individual champion, as Pyae Phyo Thu, a sophomore from Myanmar, took second place and Jaime Jolve, a graduate student from Spain, finished third.

   Phyo Thu sandwiched a 3-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of even-par 71s to earn runnerup honors, three shots behind Deegan, with a 3-under 210 total.

   Julve opened with a 2-under 69 and added a 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-under 70 to finish a shot behind Phyo Thu with a 2-under 211 total.

   George Washington’s Rodrigo Barahona, a freshman from Mexico, and William & Mary’s Logan Hunter, a sophomore from Tampa, Fla., finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on even-par 213, a shot behind Villanova’s Pamer.

   Barahona sandwiched a 4-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of solid 2-under 69s. Hunter got it going in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 4-under 67, which he sandwiched with a pair of 2-over 73s in the first and final rounds.

   Joining Villanova’s Weaver in the trio tied for seventh place at 1-over 214 were Hunter’s William & Mary teammate, Trevor Binau, a senior from Columbus, Ohio, and Lafayette’s Ray Dennehy, a sophomore from Princeton, Mass.

   After struggling to a 7-over 78 in the opening round, Binau matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 before matching the low round of the tournament with a sparkling 6-under 65 in the final round. Dennehy got off to a fast start with a 4-under 67 in the opening round, but struggled in the second round with a 5-over 76 before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Leon Heitz, a sophomore from Germany, gave Farleigh Dickinson a third top-10 finisher as he joined Villanova’s Lohwater in the tie for 10^th place at 2-over 215. Heitz was solid in Monday’s double round, matching par in the afternoon with a 71 after opening with a 2-under 69, before closing with a 4-over 75.

   Leading the way for Penn was George Roessler, a sophomore from North Palm Beach, Fla. who finished in the group tied for 28^th place with an 8-over 221 total as he added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 72 before closing with a 4-over 75.

   Ben Scott, a sophomore from Manhattan Beach, Fla., finished a shot behind Roessler in the group tied for 32^nd place with a 9-over 222 total. Scott opened with a 6-over 77 and added a 4-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 70.

   John Richardson, a sophomore from England, finished a shot behind Scott for the Quakers as he landed in the group tied for 35^th place with a 10-over 223 total. Richardson opened with best round of the week for any Quaker, a 2-under 69, and matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 before struggling to an 83 in the final round.

   Mark Haghani, Penn’s veteran senior from Wilson, Wyo., finished in the group tied for 49^th place with a 228 total as he opened with a 2-over 73 and struggled to a 79 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Haghani finished in a tie for second place in last spring’s Ivy League Championship at Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Anthony Basilio, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn. who finished alone in 69^th place with a 235 total as he added a 4-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 76 before struggling to an 84 in the final round.

   The Quakers brought along three players to Williamsburg to compete as individuals and two of them, Jimin Jung, a junior from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Andy Fan, a senior from Scarsdale, N.Y., finished in the group tied for 45^th place at 14-over 227.

   After opening with a 7-over 78, Jung added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 4-over 75. After struggling in the opening round with an 80, Fan carded a solid 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 4-over 75.

   Rounding out the Penn contingent was Harrison Ornstein, a senior from Naples, Fla. who finished in a tie for 70^th place with a 236 total as he added a solid 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 79 before struggling in the final round with an 83.

   Leading the way for St. Joe’s was freshman Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who posted back-to-back 1-over 72s in the final two rounds to finish in the group tied for 16^th place with a 4-over 217 total. Zerfass had opened with a 2-over 73.

   Graduate student J.T. Spina, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Pope John Paul II, finished among the group tied for 60^th place with a 232 total as he struggled in Monday’s double round, adding a 7-over 78 in the afternoon to his opening-round 80 before closing with a 3-over 74.

   Another Hawk freshman, Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon, finished in a tie for 70^th place with Penn’s Basilio at 236. Matt added a 6-over 77 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 78 before closing with an 81.

   Junior Kevin Smith, who led Strath Haven to Central League and District One Class AAA titles as a senior in 2019, finished in a tie for 74^th place with a 239 total. Smith opened with a 4-over 75, but struggled after that, adding an 81 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with an 83.

   Rounding out the Saint Joseph’s lineup was Ryan Gorman, a junior from Greenville, S.C. who finished in a tie for 76^th place with a 241 total as opened with an 80 and struggled to an 88 in Monday afternoon’s second round before bouncing back with a solid 2-over 73 in the final round.

   Sophomore Thomas Larkin, a scholastic standout at Cardinal O’Hara, competed as an individual for the Hawks and finished in the group tied for 63^rd place with a 233 total. Larkin added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with an 83.

   A familiar named popped up in the Navy lineup as freshman Jack Tarzy, a Medford, N.J. native who frequently appeared on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, finished among the group tied for 23^rd place with a 6-over 219 total.

   Tarzy, a product of The Hun School of Princeton, matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 2-over 73 before closing with a 4-over 75.